Shane Brown-Daniels

Moneybookers temporarily locked my account making funds inaccessible

Shane — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 08:37:06 +0000

Met into a roadblock with (Skrill) Moneybookers the other day which was both scary and darn frustrating. From time to time Skrill (Moneybookers) will temporarily restrict your account to carry out some periodical security checks.

Probably because I hadn’t verified my address? But let me make it clear that verifying your address is not mandatory when signing up for Skrill (Moneybookers), but if you do verify your address the amount of money that you are allowed transfer within a particular period will increase. However, if they ask for you to verify your address — which they may most certainly do at one time or another — then it becomes a mandatory requirement unless you don’t mind your account being locked on a permanent basis.

They are quite strict and harsh when it comes on to security and minimizing money laundering activity and protecting user accounts. Noble initiatives, but at the expense of your convenience! Anway, here’s a typical email that you may receive from the Security department of Skrill (Moneybookers):

Temporarily Restricted

“… Your account with Skrill (Moneybookers) has been temporarily restricted until we have confirmed your identity and personal details.

Any information you provide us with will only be disclosed in accordance with the Data Protection Act of 1998. Skrill (Moneybookers) protects your account information from unauthorised access, use or disclosure. We will only use your personal information to service your account and to improve our services to you.

In order to become a fully verified customer and have your Skrill (Moneybookers) account unrestricted, we hereby kindly ask you to send us a copy of the following documentation and information:

1) A full colour copy of a valid, official identification document; such as your international passport (double page), national identity card or drivers licence (front and back), a copy is required to verify your identity.

2) A copy of a paper utility bill (Gas Bill/Electricity Bill) or bank statement issued in the last three months clearly displaying your name and address that has been received at the registered postal address detailed on your Skrill (Moneybookers) account, this is required to verify your address. …”

Temporarily Suspended

“… We are contacting you in regards to your account with Skrill (Moneybookers).

We would like to inform you that your account is temporarily suspended for payments following a routine security audit.

In order to lift the restrictions imposed on your account, we need to confirm your identity and address. To allow this, please provide copies of the following documents:

- a color copy (scan or a camera image) of both sides of your valid official identification document which must include a picture (for example, identity card, passport or driving license).

and

- clarification of your relationship with username@domain.com and the purpose of your transactions with the respective customer …”

Start a quarrel with them?

At first I was annoyed and felt to send back some kind of feisty reply, because I figured that I already gave so much data and documentation to prove my identity and activities. But what I advise is that if you do find yourself in such a position is to supply the documentation as requested, unless of course you are not comfortable with releasing particular documents to them. In that case, you’ll forfeit your Skrill (Moneybookers) account. Some users have done this, but what about the balance you may have in your account? Now there’s the tough part.

Horror Stories and Resolutions

There are a number of horror stories with Skrill (Moneybookers) which I cannot deny. I’ve searched for what other persons have experienced, and it’s not pretty. But to be fair, I am only going by the person’s account of what happened. The reason I say this is because third party clients can cause you a bit of trouble if in fact they are engaging in unlawful financial activities — even if you are unaware! It’s best to be honest, supply the necessary documentation and do all of this in a prompt manner. This I did. Within about 4 days, my account was released for regular transactions. This is not to say that 4 days is the time for releasing accounts.

Inconvenience sucks but their services are good

The inconvenience I suffered was rough because funds were frozen as they barred me from making withdrawals until they were through with the verification process. Nonetheless, I still find their service quite good, and I particularly like the fact that you can add a U.S. virtual bank account (VBA) and also perform SWIFT transfers to homeland banks with local SWIFT codes. These are some very good benefits.

It’s a give and take situation I guess — great benefits but intense security checks that may cause significant inconvenience — a P.I.A. if you ask me! Then again they emphasize it’s for your own protection — Hmm. In in a nutshell, if your account does get limited in some way because of a security check, do act swiftly and be clear about your online activities should they ask you of them.

How to avoid waiting ‘forever’ to get money from PayPal

Shane — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:32:08 +0000

The cries are loud and clear from entrepreneurs and contractors who would like to receive money from PayPal much faster than waiting over a month to receive a check and as much as another month to access the funds. Not fun at all to wait so long to receive payments. This highly inconvenient e-Commerce issue needs a solution. The ideal solution is to have your particular country being at the level at which PayPal will allow direct bank transfers. That involves quite a bit of bureaucracy and needs to be addressed at a governmental level. Such takes time, more than what most of us are willing to spend.

I’ve written about an alternative to PayPal, which is Moneybookers (Skrill). It is effective — involves wire transfers (WTs) to homeland banks that take less than a week. The only thing is that it is a bit expensive, but not on the part of Moneybookers but rather the exorbitant bank fees.

Now, there’s another way that I’ve found which can be cheaper, faster and more convenient — Payoneer. The two prominent Payoneer products/services that is of high value to business persons in the developing world are: a prepaid MasterCard and a US Virtual Bank Account (VBA).

Click to get $25 through Payoneer when you sign up for your own Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard!

Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard

With this card, you can receive funds from several Payoneer Partners including oDesk, eLance, Freelancer among a host of others. You will be able to receive funds within 1-7 days. There’s a one-time 9.95 USD activation fee for many countries including USA, Jamaica, India and the Philippines. The activation fee is higher for certain ‘high risk’ countries.

How to get a Card

You may stand a better chance of card approval if you apply through a Payoneer Partner of which you are a member. For instance, if you’re an oDesker (oDesk Member) as myself, you would apply through oDesk. The signup is quite simple and straightforward, and the approval time is fast. You’ll need to supply documentation for identity verification – but that’s typical anyway.

Getting your Card in the mail

The only glitch I’ve found is the delivery of the MasterCard even though it’s free. Payoneer doesn’t tend to ship to PO Boxes, but rather to street addresses. It’s known that in the developing countries such as Jamaica, the service of postmen delivering parcels to your home is out of the picture. You can also take the expensive route of using the DHL Service which I do not recommend. Contact the Payoneer team if you wish to receive your Card in your PO Box, but be prepared to provide additional documents to prove your actual residential address.

US Virtual Bank Account (VBA)

Once you have your MasterCard and activated it, you can then apply for the US Payment Service. Once approved, you’ll receive your own Virtual US Bank Account.

Add your US VBA to PayPal

With the virtual bank a/c details that you’ve received from Payoneer, you can now proceed to adding it to PayPal. Payoneer deals with the verification issue, and that’s why your bank a/c will be verified almost immediately — so you won’t have to wait the typical 3-4 days.

Transfer funds from PayPal to Payoneer

Once that’s set, you can transfer funds from PayPal to your virtual bank a/c (which is directly connected to your Payoneer a/c). You’ll be able to access funds within 1-7 days, and that’s when you can use your prepaid MasterCard to make transactions.

Limitations of the US VBA

It’s virtual so you can’t expect to use it as you would a regular US a/c. You can only transfer funds TO your virtual bank a/c. If you attempt to transfer funds from your virtual bank a/c, you will risk having it blocked, especially with the likes of PayPal.

Straight Talk about Payoneer

I’ll tell you straight up that Payoneer isn’t necessarily cheap, but it sure beats waiting weeks at a time and paying the way more expensive banks fees that take huge chunks out of your hard earned money. You’ll have access to your funds with your MasterCard through the internet and ABMs across 200 countries. You can use it to do regular transactions. Take the time to check out the fees and rates though.

Is this ‘the’ payment method for the online international entrepreneur? Well, it’s hard to answer now, but I know that it sure is a decent solution for the current inconvenience with getting paid online in the ‘third world’.

Get your own Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard, and if you use my affiliate link, http://browndaniels.net/payoneer, you and I will receive 25 USD from Payoneer which can be a good offset for your Card activation fee.

Namecheap offers loyalty benefits to its customers

Shane — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:41:13 +0000

If you’re a Namecheap customer and you’ve spent at least 50 USD with them, then you’re in for a treat! There are discount coupons and freebies, called Namecheap Deals, that you will receive to use with other website building companies to help you build your online presence and brand. Some of them do not even require you to sign up with a credit card or anything, but just starting an account with them.

Each Namecheap partner has particular requirements to redeem its coupon, and each coupon has an expiry date that is set once you activate.

Depositphotos

With your coupon, you’ll receive the privilege of downloading high quality royalty-free pictures for absolutely free. Furthermore, you’ll also receive a 15% discount on your first purchase of credits or when you make a subscription. This happens to be my favorite deal of them all because there’s no demand to sign up with your credit card. You can always utilize your discount when you’re ready to pay. Of course the coupon doesn’t have an indefinite lifespan.

Google Adwords

Receive 20, 50 or 75 USD in Adwords credits to promote your website(s) across the internet. There’s a catch though! You have to use the coupon with a new Adwords account. It’s really meant to be a trial package, so If your account isn’t new, then you’ll know what to do [hint].

Template Monster

Receive a 30% for a premium website template. There are templates available for a wide variety of web-platforms.

AdRoll

Receive 150 USD worth of advertising with the #1 Advertising Company as declared by Inc. Magazine.

Seomoz

Use this popular SEO web software for 2, 3 or 4 months free to help put your site on top using audits, rank tracking, recommendations among other features. You’ll need to sign up with a credit card though, even though you won’t be charged for your free time. However, you are free to cancel.

Seevolution

Get a 15% discount for using Real Time Web Analytics with tools to help you improve the relevancy of your website and webpages and increase the visitor engagement factor. The discount applies to all Seevolution packages.

All of these deals via Namecheap may or may not suit you, but from someone who has actually utilized a couple of them — namely depositphotos and Google Adwords — I’d say they are definitely worth it to help give your website a popularity lift as well as heighten the professional feel.

Moneybookers, a PayPal alternative for Jamaican e-commerce

Shane — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:42:48 +0000

PayPal is for sure a household name, and is well trusted for online transactions of all sorts including the receipt of payments for online business activities. Though PayPal fees are low, there is a huge disadvantage for Jamaicans because PayPal currently doesn’t offer a direct banking option to Jamaican Banks.

The only option to withdraw funds – unless a Jamaican has a US Bank account (not to be confused with a US currency account) – is to request a check from PayPal that will be mailed through the regular ‘snail mail’ postal system. 5 USD for the withdrawal fee is hardly anything to fuss about, but without any option for expedited delivery you will have to wait about a month before that check arrives.

To add to that, most Jamaican Banks will hold a foreign check, even from the trusted PayPal, for up to 30 days or more. So in all, you will have a wait time of approximately 2 months before you have access to those funds! Very impractical I must say especially for Jamaica’s growing e-commerce. So obviously the need for alternative online payment portals is urgent.

The plight of e-Commerce in Jamaica

Recently the issue of e-commerce in Jamaica was the focus of discussion on Television Jamaica’s (TVJ’s) All Angles with Host Dionne Jackson Miller. Guests on the show were: Julian Robinson; State Minister ~ Technology; Tyrone Wilson, President and CEO of eMedia Interactive; Grace Lindo, Attorney-at-Law; and Gordon Swaby, Founder and CEO of Edufocal, Ltd. (You can watch the program at: http://www.televisionjamaica.com/Programmes/AllAngles.aspx/Videos/19995) Minister Robinson touched specifically on the PayPal dilemma stating:

I am going to approach them (PayPal), the government is going to formally write them to seek a connection with our local banking sector. I think if we do that we’ll see an exponential growth in e-commerce in Jamaica. Because many Jamaicans just don’t have access to a US Bank account… So this I think will significantly enhance e-commerce and internet businesses.

Gordon Swaby reiterated the same problem of receiving payments via PayPal on the programme, and even wrote on the Online payment dilemma in Jamaica. Off the bat, I’d say that most Jamaicans would opt for a PayPal solution to receive payments, but in the meanwhile until the promise made by Minister Robinson is fulfilled by the current administration, viable alternatives need to be pursued.

Moneybookers {Skrill}

The U.K. based Moneybookers {Skrill} is a decent alternative in my estimate. Money can be transferred between Skrill accounts through email addresses — just like Paypal. Funds can be withdrawn via wire transfer to Jamaican Banks that have a non-intermediary bank SWIFT codes.

From my research, I’ve noted that the Jamaican banks with ‘home-based’ swift codes are:

The Royal Bank of the Caribbean (RBC), formerly RBTT [RBTTJMKN]
The National Commercial Bank (NBC) [JNCBJMKX]
FirstCaribbean Bank, formerly CIBC [FCIBJMKN]

Moneybookers’ fees are reasonably low too – under 3 USD to wire transfer funds to a Bank. The real cost will come from the wire transfer fees charged by the particular bank. These fees may amount to somewhere from 20 USD to about 35 USD, and will be automatically be deducted from the funds sent from Moneybookers. Typically funds take from 3-5 business days to be accessible.

Signing up for a Moneybookers account and verifying your identity

Signing up for a Moneybookers account is simple and likened to signing up for a PayPal account. I must say that Moneybookers is a bit stricter than PayPal with tough anti-money laundering security strategies in place. You’ll have to verify your identity through one of three means: debit/credit card, bank account or address. I don’t recommend the latter two, unless you need to exponentially increase the limit on the amount of money you wish to transfer.

Verifying your identity via bank transfer may be unnecessarily costly and will also take a few days. Identity verification via address means that you will have to wait on a particular document with a unique code that Moneybookers sends to your street address. Note: Moneybookers does not send to Post Office (P.O.) boxes. (Oct.24.2012 Update: Moneybookers can expedite the address verification method in the case where you receive mail via a PO Box. Contact them and they’ll instruct you in what to do.)

Verifying your identity via credit/debit card is instantaneous and most practical. You’ll be required to input the exact amount of funds that Moneybookers charges to your credit/debit card, which is a small random sum of up to about 5 USD. You may have to call your Bank’s customer care to find out how much exactly was charged by Moneybookers. Trust me, don’t try to guess it or calculate it based on conversion ratios because you’ll most likely get it wrong. You’ll only receive a couple of attempts to input the correct amount in USD. By the way, money transferred through bank transfer or charged on your credit/debit card will be credited to your Moneybookers account.

Linking your bank account to your Moneybookers account

Once you set up your account, whether consumer or business, and verify your identity, you can then add your bank account. The instructions are quite easy to follow, and there shouldn’t be much of a hassle. You can only add your own bank account(s). The name on your bank account must match the name on your Moneybookers account. No hanky panky, even with your address. If you place an incorrect address, you won’t be able to edit it until after 3 months from your first edit. Once you make these steps, you should be good to go.

Even when the PayPal issue with Jamaican banks is sorted out, I am a bit concerned that the fees to transfer funds won’t be much different than with Moneybookers unless there is some kind of waiver sorted out. Until then, in spite of the un-welcomed bank transfer fees, Moneybookers is apparently the overall fastest and most convenient way for Jamaican consumers and business persons to receive money online.

Jamaica and the Caribbean stamp dominance in Track and Field at the London 2012 Olympics

Shane — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 06:01:48 +0000

Yesterday, August 12, marked the official ending of the London 2012 Summer Olympics. What a treat it was! Though my bias is naturally and understandably for Jamaica who was like dynamite to the n^th power, I am truly happy for the Caribbean’s performance on a whole. I agree with the former 100 metre sprinter and four-time Olympic medal winner from Trinidad and Tobago, Ato Boldon, who in a recent interview spoke of Jamaica’s performance at Beijing 2008 being a catalyst for the Caribbean, and that the athletic dominance will increase and will continue for a ‘very very long time’. The Caribbean has really stepped up its game with overall 36 medals among Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.

An interesting site was brought to my attention that ranks each country’s Olympic medal performance in terms of population. Medal per Capita (www.medalspercapita.com) shows that for the Caribbean, the ranking is as follows:

Rank	Country	Medals	Population	Medals per Population
1	Grenada	1	110,821	110,821
2	Jamaica	12	2,705,827	225,485
3	Trinidad and Tobago	4	1,317,714	329,428
5	Bahamas	1	353,658	353,658
17	Cuba	14	11,241,161	802,940
39	Puerto Rico	2	3,725,789	1,862,894
58	Dominican Republic	2	9,378,818	4,689,409

From this point of view, Grenada won the Olympics! Haha… Kirani James made his people truly proud winning Grenada’s first medal ever at an Olympic Games after he triumphantly won the 400m finals.

Grenada’s Kirani James (C) celebrates winning the men’s 400m final near Belgium’s Kevin (L) and Jonathan Borlee during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 6, 2012. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Another outstanding Caribbean moment was when the 19 year old, Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago, stunned the world with winning the men’s Javelin competition with an extraordinary throw just short of the current world record.

Trinidad’s Keshorn Walcott takes a throw in the men’s javelin throw final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. Photo: David J. Phillip / AP

The Bahamian men’s 4 x 400 m team convincingly held off all competition to win their well-deserved gold.

Bahamas’s Ramon Miller, Michael Mathieu, Chris Brown and Demetrius Pinder celebrate their gold medal win in the men’s 4×400-meter during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Felix Sanchez of Dominican Republic proved Critics wrong by showing that he still has ‘it’ and won the men’s 400 m hurdles. Other moments were quite as fantastic, and celebrations roared within this Caribbean basin.

Felix Sanchez of Dominican Republic wins the gold medal in the 400m hurdles, in front of Michael Tinsley of USA who gets the silver medal and Javier Culson of Puerto Rico who gets the bronze medal in athletics at the Olympic Stadium at the Summer Olympic Games 2012 in London. (Source: pacificcoastnews.com)

As for Jamaica – the black, green and gold flew high and proud with exceptional individual medal performances from: Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Warren Weir, Hansel Parchment, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown; along with team medal performances from the women’s 4 x 400 m relay team and the men’s and women’s 4 x 100 m men’s relay team.

Can I say 1-2-3 sweep! And what the Jamaica Observer calls the double treble! History was made — a world record and national records were broken. New ground was broken because more events were entered, and never before has the Olympic games seen a superstar legend with such a personable aura like that of Usain Bolt. ‘To di worl’!’

Usain St. Leo Bolt celebrates his win in the men’s 200m final with his signature pose — ‘To di worl’!’. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Breakdown of Jamaica’s Medals

GOLD: men’s 100 m [Usain Bolt] | women’s 100 m [Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce] | men’s 200 m [Usain Bolt] | men’s 4 x 100 m relay team

SILVER: men’s 100 m [Yohan Blake] | men’s 200 m [Yohan Blake] | women’s 200 m [Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce] | women’s 4 x 100 m relay team

BRONZE: men’s 100 m [Warren Weir] | women’s 100 m [Veronica Campbell-Brown] | men’s 110 m hurdles [Hansel Parchment] | women’s 4 x 400 m relay team

I hasten to make mention of valuable performances from Jamaican athletes who did not medal, but nonetheless did extraordinarily well, such as:

Alia Atkinson, who is the first Jamaican to be in a swimming finals at the Olympics and who lowered the national record.

Samantha Albert, who is Jamaica’s first Olympic Equestrian athlete with her horse Carraig Dubh.

Kenneth Edwards, Jamaica’s first entrant in the Taekwondo at the Olympic Games.

In reminiscence, people locked down Half Way Tree, Kingston for a couple days in anticipation and celebration of victory. Pot covers were broken after being knocked together like cymbals. Even one person said that Usain Bolt owes him a new pot! Lol!

Amidst celebrations, there were a few disappointing, terrifying and even heartbreaking moments, but such is the nature of life. Non-athletes may not know the rigours of training and devotion that is required of athletes, and when they may not perform as expected (and that includes getting a medal), they are often treated harshly. I say NAY to that bad and ungrateful attitude! Celebrate them in both their victories and dissappointments: Asafa Powell, Bridgette Foster-Hylton, Melaine Walker, Jermaine Gonzales among others. All 50 of our Jamaican athletes, and all other Caribbean athletes that went to London should be recognized and appreciated! They had to go through grueling trials just to be on the national Olympic team, much less to compete on the World’s greatest platform with the ‘best of the best’ athletes. And never should we forget the coaching staff and other stakeholders who make sure that the athletes are mentally, physically and spiritually ready for the big stage. Hats off to them!

The legacy of Jamaican and Caribbean performance needs to continue. Proper planning, funding and nurturing has to be taken seriously. The likes of Lightning Bolt, The Beast, Weir Wolf, Pocket Rocket among others will not last forever. New stars must emerge, and emerge must they in other events along with Track and Field.

Cancelling magazine subscriptions from NewSub

Shane — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:05:13 +0000

A couple years ago, I took advantage of a really attractive optional third-party magazine subscription deal that was attached to my purchase of a popular internet security application. In fact, the deal was so enticing that I subscribed to not one but four magazines! I thought it was a one-off deal, only to see credit card charges the following year. At this point, there was no deal because I experienced the full brunt of annual magazine subscription fees. One magazine was almost 80 USD for the year! Overall charges spiked over 200 USD!

Tricksters will try their social engineering tactics to lure you into recurring subscriptions hoping that you will be oblivious to their deceptions.

I didn’t bargain for this. My first step was to email each magazine company requesting a subscription cancellation. I thought it would have been as easy as 1-2-3 but I was sadly mistaken. It turned out that there were intermediary companies that dealt with the subscriptions, and that the magazine companies couldn’t end my subscriptions. These magazine companies gave me phone numbers, and recently I pressed them and got an email address. I was fortunate to get that email address – imagine that. One magazine company Rep. replied:

Thank you, our records show your order was placed through Newsub. In order to cancel the order, please call that company directly at 1-877-536-6414. We had placed your account on a hold on … so additional issues would not be labeled for you. The last issue mailed was the … issue. However since the order was placed through a third party agency, we are unable to completely cancel the order. Please contact Newsub directly for further assistance.

NewSub! — the first clue. I further found out though that NewSub Magazine Services LLC and Synapse Group Inc are one and the same. To be more precise, NewSub is rebranded as Synapse, and you will find that when you visit www.newsub.com, it will redirect after a few seconds to www.synapsegroupinc.com. All my subscriptions were through the same company. I get the feeling that some of these magazine companies don’t necessarily want to give you much information about these intermediary companies, because after all they bring in quite a bit of revenue through deceptive annual recurring charges. Leaving others to do their dirty work? I have read where persons have called the numbers given only to go through agonizing robotic recordings and getting nothing done. It all seemed like a full-fledged scam to me.

Nevertheless, on www.synapsegroupinc.com, you will find a link to: www.magcustomerservice.com

This website allows you to ‘end’ all your subscriptions through NewSub (Synapse), among other actions, but the catch is that you’ll end future automatic subscriptions while your current subscription remains active, i.e. ACTIVE, NO RENEWALS. If you wish to receive a refund for issues not yet sent, then I suggest getting in direct contact with the Magazine Publisher to make a request.

One final word – if you want to really end the annoying recurring charges, avoid accepting any further deals from these guys. Read carefully, and end it all. My conclusion is that these subscriptions were deceptive in nature but luckily not hardcore scams that require credit card cancellations as remedies.

Some deals are just ‘too good to be true’.

JPSco’s frequent power outages continue

Shane — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 02:51:40 +0000

Our ‘beloved’ light and power company couldn’t have chosen a ‘better’ time but to have power cuts during special Olympic moments. Maybe warnings were given on its website, but even if they were there, does this demonstrate enough effort on JPSco’s part to efficiently and effectively notify its clients? I hear people venting about how they didn’t get to see certain races where Jamaica got GOLD because of these infamous power outages.

Now, it’s understandable that at times power outages have to be performed for various reasons, but these instances happen way too often to be considered reasonable. Sometimes these outages occur almost daily, and several times during the day. Not to mention the rapid on and off pattern of power cuts likened to a mischievous child flicking a light switch on and off. And what about the Blackout that took place on virtually all the island earlier this month? Was this because Tropical Storm Ernesto’s wind, rain, thunder and lightning was so torrential that JPSco had to pull the plug? Furthermore,the power outage was over 5 hours, at least in Central Jamaica. JPSco is yet to give a comprehensive explanation of this serious blackout. Government officials are pressing the power company on the matter, but past officials are largely to blame as they helped to create this unwelcomed monopoly. Competition is needed! Remember how it was when Cable & Wireless was the only telecommunications entity compared to when Digicel and others came along?

Persons have their conspiracy theories about the company, and sometimes as absurd as they may sound, I wonder how far off they are. A whole lot of transparency is needed on JPSco’s part.The company is under fire for the alleged illegal All-Island Electricity License that gives it exclusive right for sole energy distribution across the entire Jamaican power grid. Since it has been severely pressured by the government along with the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) and the general public, there are several behind-the-scenes changes including the swift resignation of the former CEO Damian Obligio from Argentina in October, 2011. The reason given by the company was that he did not renew his contract. Hm, quite a convenient time ‘fi tek weh yuhself’ when the company is threatened with lawsuits of the decade.

Anyway, JPSco is seeking to improve its customer service, and to get a feel of its customers’ feelings and views, it has sent online surveys. I completed one such survey with great enthusiastic anger because I am thoroughly dissatisfied with not so much its customer service as with the power service. The survey has an comment box at its end which is optional to fill, but didn’t I take advantage of that! Here goes:

I would not just simply switch to a new power company just because it supplies cheaper electricity. I would DEFINTELY switch to another power company if that company supplies RELIABLE and uninterrupted service, even if the cost is a bit more than JPS. To be honest, I am greatly dissatisfied with JPSCO’s service. Frequent power cuts, and at times these power cuts are very rapid causing damage to appliances within my home. Nonetheless, for esp. business operation, the cost of energy is too high. Couldn’t there be a waiver of some kind? My grandparents have been consumers of your energy for over 60 years, and there were a couple instances where payments did not reach your company, and without warning, the power was disconnected. To make matters worse, the power was cut on a Friday evening! There was no time to re-connect. I find this issue infuriating and disrespectful. Lastly, there are incidences of persons who are not even Jamaican, who come here and STEAL electricity. They need to be dealt with thoroughly.

Canon digital SLR budget starter kit

Shane — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:37:37 +0000

Now you’re ready to take your photography to another level, and you wish to have your first Canon digital SLR camera. I have been at that point and I was seriously excited, so I can identify. Based on my own first-hand experience and research, I have put together a list of items for a budget Canon D-SLR kit with all the essential items apart from a computer. You can always look for a bundle purchase, but there are some essential items that you may have to add to the package.

Canon D-SLR Camera: The Canon Rebel T3i at this time is the latest entry level model that is also a top seller. With this camera, you’ll be able to access full manual control, high definition video and a range of great features. It’s a great starter camera, and the images and videos it produces can be absolutely amazing. Another close choice is the Canon 60D which is larger, better built with other upgraded features. These two Canon bodies are excellent consumer grade models and as with all other Canon bodies, they can be purchased along with a kit lens.

Kit Lens: There are typically four options of kit lenses from which you will have to choose one. They are:

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens – a well built lens with good wide angle capabilities.
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS UD Standard Zoom Lens - a versatile lens that has both wide angle and telephoto capabilities. A decent walk around lens.
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens - a good telephoto to complement the 18-55mm lens.
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens – having the longest focal length of them all, this lens is suited for sports, animals and other situations and subjects requiring good magnification.

My preference is number 2, the Canon 18-135mm. I like the fact that you can get wide angle and telephoto lengths. I’d recommend this lens if you’re not sure what you should get. Having this lens, you will be able to have a feel of what kind of lens you want next, and that’s only if you have a need for another lens or if you have a ‘lens itch’. If you want to get into photography even more seriously, you will need to get other lenses.

Extra D-SLR Battery: This is a no brainer, and you must have an extra battery in your kit. The Canon LP-E8 is the compatible battery for the T3i, and the LP-E6 for the 60D.

Lens Filters and Hoods: Both of these offer protection from bounces and scratches and can reduce excess light entering your lens that can cause unsightly flares in your photos. A Ultra Violet (UV) filter is the basic filter that you can start off with. A lens filter and hood must match the diametre of the lens. Lens hoods maybe a bit more specific than just diameter for certain lenses. An example is that the Canon 18-135mm lens uses a 67mm UV filter and a Canon EW-73B lens hood.

Memory Card: Have at least two SDHC memory cards, minumum 4GB and a Class rating of 6 or 10. Ample storage space is important and also data storage speed. The higher the class, the faster your camera will have an output to store photo and video data.

Flash Unit (Speedlite): Canon has 5 flash units available for its D-SLRs, 2 of which are Professional grade. The other 3 are consumer/prosumer level.

Canon Speedlite 270 EX II- A basic flash that gets good recommendations. It’s way better than the popup flash on a T3i.
Canon Speedlite 320 EX – A flash unit with an extra LED light that can assist in taking videos.
Canon Speedlite 430 EX II – flash unit that offers features to custom adjust light intensity.

As a hobbyist on a budget, number 1 or 2 can fit your purposes. If you are more serious, then number 3 is the best choice.

Speedlite batteries: Each flash unit uses power from AA batteries. The 270 EX II uses 2 AA batteries, while the other 2 speedlites use 4 AA batteries. Also, make sure to have spare batteries. It’s better to get the rechargeable batteries along with a charger, because speedlites can gobble a battery depending on how you use them.

Speedlite diffuser: These are single open ended plastic boxes that fit over the mouth of a flash unit. They help to control the intensity of the light coming from the unit, therefore helping you to get better control of exposure. The diffuser must be compatible with the flash unit.

Tripod: A very useful device for taking long exposure shots, videos and even group shots that the photographer wants to be in! A starter tripod can be great to suit this need. They are quite reasonable and are worth it.

Cleaning Kit: This kit should include micro fibre cloths, lens cleaning fluid, lens brush, lens pen, lens paper and a lens blower. These items can be bought as a bundle, and they don’t have to be Canon branded.

Camera Bag: Depending on your preference, you may want a simple camera bag with an adjustable strap, a backpack with one or two straps.

There you have it, a basic D-SLR starter kit for a Canon user. There are several other accessories and devices that you may realise that you want, but with these essentials, you are equipped to shoot!

5 mistakes I made as a photographer

Shane — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:21:57 +0000

There are a number of ways I’ve been learning throughout my journey as an image artist, one of which is through mistakes and failures. I’ll share with you a few of those mistakes that maybe you won’t have to make. They are things that I could have avoided, but as thorough as you maybe there are little things that you may overlook.

Using lens fluid on lens filter: Didn’t that make a mess! Lens cleaning fluid will smudge the particular chemical that coats the filter. To clean a lens filter, just use a lens brush and a micro fibre cloth without the liquid. For a little moisture, breathe a mist on the filter then clean with micro fibre cloth. I think I was a bit too enthusiastic with cleaning my equipment though. Now, I am not so concerned about dust on the outside because that isn’t much of an issue for me. I am more concerned of dust getting on the inside of my gear.

Not having a wide angle lens for close and tight shots: It was somewhat of a disaster when I missed some important shots at an event because of a focal length that was too long. I used a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens for some shots that gave me very little flexibility. I should have used my kit lens (Canon EF-S 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 IS Lens), because even though the 50mm can take a higher standard of photo, the kit lens can get quite wide at 18mm giving much more wiggle room.

Using a camera bag with an over the shoulder strap: Not a good idea when you are trying to get shots of race cars for the entire day! Very uncomfortable, and it slowed me down. Never again, so I got a knapsack. More specifically a Kata Rucksack DR-467i - Love it!

Wearing a hard billed cap in broiling sun: Yeh, I can always turn it backwards, but that defeats the purpose of the cap if I am in the blazing sun. A soft broad brim hat or something of the sort is better. I ended up using a soft billed cap that bend or can be flipped upwards when I have the camera to my face.

Failing to have spare batteries for flash unit: I didn’t charge my spare batteries for my Canon Speedlite 430 EX II and suffered for it! Good thing it wasn’t a major issue, and I worked around it. It can be easier to overlook spare batteries for a flash unit versus the D-SLR. That shouldn’t be happening again.

In my book, as a photographer whether amateur, hobbyist or professional is to make sure you have all your gear ready, carry them comfortably so that you can focus your energy on taking great shots.

An amateur photographer’s lenses

Shane — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:25:42 +0000

Had I gotten certain opportunities for testing photography equipment, my lens choices would be a little different. I’m a Canon user, and a very active photographer who covers events and loves to take portraits. I tend to gravitate more towards portraits and portraiture, because I am fascinated with expressions of the face and body language. Therefore my lens choices reflect such tendencies. I love me my primes with my only hiccup being that my Canon EOS Rebel T2i, a crop-sensored camera increases the effective focal length of the lenses. Sometimes it can work for me, but other times its a bit inconvenient. Well, for my list of lenses, I have four. There is one lens that I definitely need, and I’ll explain the reason at the end.

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens

The Kit Lens: When I purchased my T2i, it came with a Canon EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens. I rate it as a decent starter lens with good wide angle capabilities. Its effective focal length range is 29-85mm. 29mm is quite wide, and so it’s great for group, landscape and real estate shots. It does falter in low light though, and will hunt for a focus point. The autofocus motor is fairly smooth, is somewhat noisy with an OK focus speed. Build quality is quite decent especially for the price. However for my purposes, If I had known better when I was buying the T2i, I would have bought an alternate kit lens, which is the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens. It’s similar to the kit lens I got, but the reason I would have gotten this one is because it has telephoto abilities due to a longer focal range. Before getting the T2i, it was suggested to me that I get a Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Lens (another kit lens). But If I bought that I would have lost the wide angle capabilities of the 18-55mm. The other option would be to buy the 18-55mm along with the 55-250mm. That’s rather pricey, so my best choice would have been the 18-135mm, which falls right in the middle of the other 2 lenses having the best of both worlds. It’s great to start out with a lens that you can feel your way around with so that you can get an idea of what kind of lens you want to invest in next. In my first few weeks of using the kit lens, I was many times seeking to get the best bokeh I could possibly get. It is through this that I realised that I needed a lens that had a large aperture, so that I could get beautiful bokehs especially with portraits.

Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens

The Portrait Lens: I absolutely love the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens USM Medium Telephoto Lens - my favourite lens of them all! As with all my camera gear, I decided on this lens based on customer reviews, product reviews, forum discussions and sample photos. I saw uneditied photos with tremendous bokeh, superb sharpness and contrast. Amazing! I was surprised that this lens was under $500, let alone under $400! It was a great deal, and so I bought it and have not been disappointed at all. As I was saying earlier, there is a challenge that you may have when using a prime lens on a T2i, and I found this out throughout my use with the 85mm. When I was aiming to capture a full length photograph of a person using this lens, I found myself have to move back many feet! It’s really great to use for head and face shots, but not convenient for full length portraits if you plan to be relatively close to your subjects. I realized that I needed another lens with a shorter focus length for that purpose.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 US lens

The Nifty Fifty: There is something special in the photography realm about the 50mm lens, and I hear enthusiasts to professionals praising this as a must- have. I was sold, and I rested on getting the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens. Before my purchase, I was back and forth between the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 US lens. The latter lens has a wider aperture, and is therefore capable of producing a stronger bokeh and will perform a bit better in low light. I prefer this lens, but the deciding factor for me was that the 50mm f/1.8 is cheaper and I was convinced that its performance was good. Also, I read a number of reviews about the autofocusing mechanism of the 50mm f/1.4 ceasing to work! I wasn’t thrilled about that, and wasn’t willing to deal with the possibility of that trauma. It’s not like I could simply return it, seeing that I would be in an entirely different country which has terrible custom fees. So I settled with the 50mm f/1.8 lens. I rate this as an OK lens – an average lens. What I like about it is that the images it captures have a appeal that is very similar to how my brain and eyes perceive subjects. I also like the large aperture and its ability to perform in low light. That which I don’t like about it is it’s noisy autofousing, cheap build quality and narrow autofocusing ring. Not only is the autofocusing loud, but the vibrations feel very coarse when it seeks to lock on focus. The kit lens feels much better built than this lens – something I really didn’t expect. I learnt that with this lens, you can really miss your focus if you’re not careful. The 85mm f/1.8 is way better on locking on to a focus point than this. But when you do focus with the 50mm f/1.8, the outcome can be really nice. Looking back, I would have risked getting the 50mm f/1.4 lens instead. Even with that said, in light of the crop-sensor challenge, I would consider opting for a shorter focal length, like the Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 lens or the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 lens. Both these are wide angle prime lenses and would serve my purposes better than a 50mm.

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM OS FLD Large Aperture Telephoto Zoom Lens

The Telephoto Lens: I’m convinced that the Canon white ‘see me here!’ lenses are designed for consumers to drool! I started getting a number of gigs where I was required to cover an event. The 2 Primes I had and a kit lens just was not going to suffice. I needed a telephoto lens that was able to produce sharp images with good contrast, vibrant colour and lovely bokehs. I really wasn’t into the variable telephoto zoom lenses like the: Canon 55-250mm f/4.0 to 5.6 IS, Canon 70-300 f/4-5.6 or the Canon 75-300 f/4-5.6. I read many reviews, and looked at the quality of the sample photos. I wasn’t impressed. I wanted a lens that could produce images that were similar to the standard of the 85mm f/1.8. Primes and Zooms are different creatures, but I was determined to get a high quality Telephoto lens without breaking the bank. I knew that I would be paying some serious dollars for it and my first look was on the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, both the Image Stabalization (IS) and non-IS. Ah, way too pricey! To cut it short, I decided to get the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM OS FLD Large Aperture Telephoto Zoom Lens which is absolutely outstanding! The best lens of my four. It would have been my favourite hadn’t it been a bit difficult to use with the T2i. Don’t get me wrong, because it works beautifully with the T2i, but it’s just that my hands are large, the T2i is small, and the Sigma is huge!

Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM ELD SLD Aspherical Super Wide Angle Lens

Looking over my lenses as an amateur photographer in light of my activities and interests, I would say that I have a near complete lens kit. The only other lens I think I need for now would be a wide angle zoom lens. The ultimate I see is the Canon 16-35 f/2.8 lens, which I see many professionals use. Based on my Sigma experience, I would get the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM ELD SLD Aspherical Super Wide Angle Lens. If I knew that this is what I would need so much, I would have probably gotten this lens before my primes.

My advice to a fellow photographer who is just starting out, is to try to test out equipment before buying, which in this case is lenses. It’s sort of hard doing that where there is not much opportunity to test and return if needed, but if you can, do so. I don’t regret these lenses though, and my meticulous reading and researching proved reasonably well.